Digital music consumption (e.g., the acquisition of selected audio tracks for personal listening enjoyment) continues to increase with advances in digital music products such as on-line music services and devices for digital music storage and playback. In particular, portable media players and personal digital assistants such as the iPod available from Apple, Inc. and personal communication devices (e.g., mobile terminals or cellular telephones) such as the iPhone also available from Apple Inc., which have additional applications such as music download and playback applications, are becoming increasingly popular.
Existing download sources are not as comprehensive as, for example, the music library of a satellite digital audio radio service (SDARS) such as that of Sirius XM Radio Inc. For example, some download sources only provide users access to recordings of one or more particular recording companies. Furthermore, one of the primary drivers for consumption of new music and other media is exposure to new content through spontaneous programmed broadcast content such as FM radio, television, and satellite radio. In particular, exposure to a rich variety of content provided by a broadcast programmer such as Sirius XM Radio Inc. is a powerful motivator to gain interest in, investigate and ultimately acquire new music and other media.
Thus, a need exists for simple do-it-yourself interfacing of digital media players such as the iPod or iPhone with SDARS or similar programming service. A need also exists for simple, do-it-yourself interfacing of digital media players such as the iPod or iPhone with a SDARS or similar programming service available in a vehicle using an existing vehicle FM radio system. Further, a need exists for an application program that can be downloaded to a digital media player such as the iPod or iPhone for facilitating the selection, storage and playback (and, optionally, the acquisition) of content from a SDARS or similar programming service using the digital media player's user interface.